Frame

Framemaker

Marchand3 Rue Neuve,Paris

Date

1899

Materials

The basic profile of the frame is made from timber but finished in such a way as to create the sense of a solid block. In fact, the wooden section must be made from laminated boards. The structure is mitred at the corners, which are all open on the inner edge as a consequence of the timber shrinking across the grain. The working edge is made from the addition of an unusually thin strip of timber to the reverse. Each corner is re-enforced from the reverse with a substantial breadth of timber and a spline. The form of the frame has been refined with a thick layer of gesso. The gesso has been re-profiled, with a scraper, to build a crisp edge to the repeated steps and curves that articulate the shape. The original surface has been lost under reworking, leaving little or no indication of the intended finish. The current surface is gold leaf.

Condition

The form of the frame is largely intact, though the surface has been re-worked. The brittle edges that have been built from profiling the thick gesso layer have been prone to fracture and loss.

Dimensions

150.0 x 124.5 x 14.0 cm; sight 114 x 88.5 cm

About

The maker is identified by a stencil, centre top reverse, much of which is illegible but which clearly identifies MARCHAND, DUREUR and part of the address 3 RUE NEUVE … PARIS. Though in one sense simple in form, the frame makes repeated use of strong linear elements in the design to give a broad formality to the picture and it is more complex in conception than it appears.